Which Catholic saint founded the Little Sisters of the Poor in 1839?

Jeanne Jugan founded the Little Sisters of the Poor in 1839.

Jeanne Jugan was born in Cancale, Brittany, in 1792. In 1839, while living in Saint-Servan, she took in an elderly blind woman who had no one to care for her. This act became the beginning of a community devoted to serving poor older people.

The congregation developed into the Little Sisters of the Poor, which established homes in France and later in other countries. Jugan’s role was obscured for years while another member, Father Auguste Le Pailleur, was publicly credited with the foundation. Church investigations eventually restored recognition of Jugan as the founder.

Pope Benedict XVI canonized her on October 11, 2009. She is often confused with Jeanne Garnier, whose earlier work in Lyon helped establish a hospice movement for dying patients. Jugan’s congregation specifically became known for caring for elderly people in poverty.